Amidst the enthusiastic applause from the audience, the spotlights on the ceiling suddenly turned on, illuminating the small stage down to the last detail. A young woman with medium-short blonde hair, dressed in a professional suit, walked up from behind the stage.
"Welcome to the live broadcast of Face to Face on NBC! I'm your host, Kate Brady!"
After another round of warm applause from the audience, Kate Brady continued, "I believe everyone has watched last month's Oscar ceremony and seen the recent news reports. So, do you know what the hottest topic is right now in Los Angeles, in the entire entertainment industry?"
The audience had started to realize something by now. After all, the newspapers had been bombarding them for several days. Even if they hadn't seen it themselves, they had heard others talk about it.
"That's right. At the end of last month, a super genius orally presented a movie script on the spot, and then composed a song in just half an hour! Alright, let's welcome our guest tonight—a boy from Los Angeles, eleven-year-old Ryan Jenkins. Let's welcome the Martian who landed on Earth!"
The audience was first stunned, then burst into laughter and clapped even more enthusiastically. The media's relentless coverage had made them extremely curious about this boy.
With the band's lively music playing, Ryan slowly walked out from behind the stage, waving at the audience. He was wearing canvas shoes, light blue jeans, a long-sleeved knit shirt, and a baseball cap worn backward. His outfit highlighted his personal charm while also making him look very approachable.
"Please have a seat, Mr. Martian!" Kate Brady teased again.
"Oh, come on, Kate. If you keep saying that, I really will leave Earth and go back to Mars!"
After Ryan sat down on the couch, he waved his hand in mock annoyance, drawing another round of laughter from the audience.
"Alright then, Ryan." Kate Brady sat opposite the boy, seemingly ready to go head-to-head. "How does it feel to hold your first Oscar?"
"Why isn't the golden statue actually made of gold? Just kidding." Ryan straightened his expression. "It was really exciting. You know, before the Oscars, some media outlets were still doubting me. This little gold statue is the Academy's recognition and affirmation of my work."
"I don't think anyone is doubting you now, right? Otherwise, they'd end up as embarrassed as Mr. Cruise." Kate smiled.
Ryan just shrugged and didn't say anything. He didn't want to come across as overly aggressive to the public.
Kate clearly didn't want to let him off the hook so easily and continued pressing, "I think everyone has seen that footage or read the reports. We're all curious—how did you manage to narrate an entire movie script in less than three hours?"
"I admit, I did get the inspiration for the script from that night's Fox TV show, but many of the scenes I used are commonly seen in movies. I simply repurposed them and integrated them into my own narrative." Ryan explained briefly, sounding fairly convincing.
"And the song? We all knew you could write novels and screenplays, but you'd never shown any musical talent before."
"Actually, I started learning music when I was in the orphanage. Some students from an art college volunteered there, and I learned sheet music, guitar, and violin from them. Speaking of which, I also picked up some other things from them in the beginning."
"Like writing and drawing storyboards?" Kate asked.
"Sketching, yes. And also learning to read and write."
"I heard you could read fluently at the age of four. Is that true?"
"Yes." Ryan nodded and showed a slightly embarrassed expression. "By the time I was four, I could fluently read most newspapers and magazines, though there were still some words I didn't fully understand. Being able to write what I do now is largely thanks to all the reading I did back then."
"We all know that you wrote Jurassic Park at the age of six. Even though the book is considered a children's novel, no one can deny it was a huge success. What inspired you at the time?"
"Between the ages of four and six, I read a lot of books. The orphanage had a small library, and I read everything in it—like War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, and so on."
Just as the audience's jaws dropped in astonishment, Ryan suddenly changed his tone. "Okay, that's impossible! Actually, I've read all the works of Stephen King and Isaac Asimov, and I really like Tolkien's epic novels too. Sometimes, when you read a lot, you start to imagine different scenes in your head. Everyone knows how fun it is to place yourself inside a fantasy world. When I was six, I suddenly thought, why not turn those fantasies into words?"
Ryan pursed his lips and went on, "Back then, I read a magazine about dinosaurs and cloning technology. Even now I don't fully understand cloning, but at the time I imagined—why not bring these prehistoric beasts into the modern world?"
His explanation was a blend of truth and fiction. He knew full well that every kid who reads a lot of books and watches cartoons tends to imagine themselves as part of the story. That's the kind of thing no one really questions.
Kate gave a look of agreement—clearly, she had indulged in such fantasies as a child too. "Do you always have so much inspiration? Since age six, you've written Jurassic Park, three Harry Potter books, and a short story collection. In terms of movies, you've written scripts for The Sixth Sense, Home Alone, and Sleepless in Seattle. Oh my God, you're incredibly prolific."
"Well, how should I put this?" Ryan looked a little embarrassed. "People close to me—my family and friends—often say I'm overly imaginative, that my mind jumps around too much. When I was younger, Nicole even thought I had delusions of grandeur…"
Ryan suddenly covered his mouth, as if he had accidentally said too much.
The audience below let out a good-natured laugh.
"Alright then, Ryan." Kate's tone suddenly turned sharp. She took out a copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. "Some critics say your work is becoming too adult, that it's losing the childlike wonder of your earlier works. What do you say to that?"
"People grow up!" Ryan shrugged playfully. "All those childlike stories were written before I turned ten."
"Doesn't all this writing affect your studies?"
"All my grades are A's," Ryan said confidently.
"But every teacher interviewed says you never pay attention in class!" Kate sounded accusatory.
"Yes, I've never denied that." Ryan spread his hands. "On the first day I get a new textbook, I read the entire thing. Some might think I'm arrogant, but honestly, the material is just too simple for me."
"I don't think anyone doubts your intelligence, right?" Kate offered a small compliment. Ryan remained unmoved.
She then gestured toward the audience—most of them teenagers. "I think what our viewers care about most is the Harry Potter series."
"Do you have a full plan for the series?"
"Yes. Unless something unexpected happens, the series should have seven books."
"Wow~" A wave of amazement swept through the crowd. This was breaking news.
Kate suddenly laughed and pulled out a newspaper from under her chair. "This is the latest issue of The Daily Mail. I assume you're familiar with it?"
"When I lived in London, Nicole subscribed to it," Ryan casually replied, taking the paper.
"The Harry Potter series is gaining influence worldwide—not just in the U.S., but also in the U.K. This paper claims the series is a work of British literature, and that you got the inspiration because of the two years you lived in London and the British education you received." Kate looked at Ryan.
"I admit that without those two years in London, I couldn't have written the books. But it has nothing to do with British education. My performance in school there…" Ryan made a knowing gesture.
"What do you think about British media calling it British literature?"
"Well…" Ryan scratched his cheek, looking a little troubled.
After all, it was British literature in every sense of the word, but he absolutely couldn't admit that. Having lived in both L.A. and London, he knew perfectly well that the U.S. and U.K. media didn't always get along. One wrong word, and it could turn into a mess.
"I think literature has no national boundaries, right?" Ryan finally gave a vague answer.
Maybe because his publicist had spoken to the show in advance, or maybe because of his age, Kate didn't press him further and shifted the topic to film.
"Any film projects this year?"
"I just wrapped Terminator 2 in March, so I'm not taking any roles for now," Ryan shook his head.
"Rumor has it that James Cameron is a tyrant on set. Is that true? Has he ever yelled at you?"
"Of course. When he's filming, James turns into a human T-Rex—scarier than the one in Jurassic Park. His scolding is like a hurricane. When we were shooting in New Mexico, I seriously considered digging a hole in the desert to bury myself."
"Why?" Both Kate and the audience looked curious.
"Because under his scolding, I felt like I was completely useless and had no dignity left."
After Ryan finished, the audience erupted into laughter.
"Will you work with him again in the future?"
"Undoubtedly, James is a remarkable director. When Terminator 2 is released, everyone will be blown away. Of course I'll continue to work with him—but definitely not as an actor."